The List
by Gallade
Summary: Ino throws a party to kiss guys (what a surprise) and somehow all of the girls are in on it. What will happen? I seriously suck at summaries. Also rated M because Ino likes to swear sometimes. Lots of different pairings for all of you shippers out there!
1. Chapter 1: The List

**Hey everyone!**

**Usual disclaimer, I only own the story, not the characters (but I wish I did!)**

**Without further ado, here is "The List!"**

* * *

**Chapter 1: The List**

It wasn't unusual for Ino to throw random spur-of-the-moment parties for no apparent reason. In fact, this had become a regular thing that everyone looked forward to. Sometimes she'd throw elegant dinner parties, sometimes everyone would gather in her living room to watch scary movies and sleep over, but more often than not they were just your average crazy party among friends. That's why Sakura wasn't surprised when she came back from grocery shopping to find a small pink envelope in the mailbox outside her apartment. She recognized Ino's stationary immediately and grabbed it before unlocking her door and stepping inside the small apartment.

She set the paper bags of groceries she was carrying down onto the counter and headed over to her cozy armchair to read the card Ino sent her. She slid a finger under the envelope flap and broke the seal, a smile beginning to form on her face. Sure enough, a small "you're invited!" card was inside. Her smile grew as she took it out to read, but the smile quickly turned into a look of confusion.

There wasn't much on the inside. Weird. It simply had the name of the invitation recipient, date of the party, and a number to RSVP to. RSVPing would be pointless, she realized – the party was tonight, a Friday night. Usually Ino's invitations had a little blurb about the theme or something, but it was completely devoid of information.

"_She's up to something…_" Sakura thought to herself. She put the invitation in her purse and headed to her room to get dressed for lunch with the girls.

* * *

Sakura walked into the small café and approached the front desk. She was greeted by an older woman with gray hair and a kindly face.

"Good afternoon, dear. Your friends are at the table in the back corner," she said sweetly. Sakura smiled back. "Thank you Ayumi."

She rounded the corner and saw everyone seated around a circular table, menus in hand. Ino looked up from her menu and made a face, blatantly making a show of Sakura's arrival. "There's a forehead coming our way!" she announced loudly. Everyone looked up and smiled at Sakura.

Sakura pretended to be annoyed by Ino's comment. "So I have to sit next to Pig?" she joked, taking a seat between Ino and Tenten.

Hinata was the first to speak up. "It's so nice to see you, Sakura," she said softly. Sakura sighed guiltily, knowing that Hinata was just being polite – she never got to see any of her friends anymore. The hospital seemed to own her now, as she rarely left to go home. There were so many injured visitors – civilians and shinobi alike – that needed tending to. She had been neglecting her friends lately in favor of what little sleep she could get in the rare chance that she got free time.

Sakura looked around at everyone at the table. "I'm sorry guys, I know I've been a terrible friend lately," she said. Temari rolled her eyes. "Gosh Sakura, why do you have to go save lives all the time?" she asked sarcastically. "But seriously, we know you're busy and we understand."

Sakura smiled as everyone nodded in agreement.

"Besides," Temari continued, "We're just glad you have this weekend to yourself! My brothers and I are in town for the next few days, so it worked out perfectly."

"OH! I almost forgot!" Ino said as she passed Sakura a menu. "You kinda need that, huh?"

Sakura glanced at the prices and reached into her purse for her wallet. She needed to know how much she was able to spend. When she was digging for the wallet, she came across the pink envelope with Ino's invitation. Making a face, she pulled it out and faced Ino. "I just remembered, I wanted to ask what this whole party thing is about."

Ino grinned mischievously. "Funny you should mention it. I was going to bring it up over lunch because we girls need to plan! You all know about my list, right?"

There were a few audible sighs around the table. Everyone knew about Ino's list of kissable-looking guys, and she talked about it frequently in this group of girls. She had taken it upon herself to rank her male peers by the appearance of their lips and how kissable they seemed. Of course, in Ino's eyes these were all hypotheses just _begging_ to be tested.

Sakura nodded. "We _all_ know about your list," she said dryly.

Ino clasped her hands together and grinned excitedly. "Well, tonight we're going to put it to the test!" She said enthusiastically.

A waitress came to the table, stopping everyone from reacting aloud to Ino's crazy proposal.

"So everyone, what'll it be?" The waitress asked.

"I'll just have a garden salad please, dressing on the side," Sakura said.

"A cup of chicken and broccoli soup please," Ino asked.

Sakura quirked an eyebrow at Ino and patiently waited for everyone to order before speaking again.

"I'll just have some dumplings."

"Salad for me!"

"J-just a small cup of miso soup, please. I'm not too hungry."

The waitress scribbled their orders down on her small pad of paper and gave a nod. "You've got it! Your food should be out shortly." She gave a smile and walked away.

"So let me get this straight, this is a party to kiss guys so you can rank them based on their ability to kiss?" Sakura asked once the waitress left.

Ino nodded enthusiastically. "For science, of course. Genius, isn't it?"

Temari cleared her throat before speaking. "Isn't that a little… mean? I mean, the guys have no idea what they're getting into by going."

Ino made a 'duh' motion with her hand. "That's the whole point! If they knew why I'm having this party, they might back out."

"And how exactly do you plan on making this work?" Tenten asked.

"Party games," Ino said matter-of-factly.

Sakura made a face. "Yuck, we're not thirteen anymore."

Ino sighed. "So? Haven't you ever wanted to know how Neji kisses? Or Shikamaru? Or even Naruto?

Everyone looked at Hinata at the mention of Naruto. Her face was beet red. "N-Naruto's going to be there?" she asked softly.

Ino folded her arms across the table. "Of course! Everyone's going to be there!"

Sakura thought about it for a moment. On one hand, it could get awkward as hell for someone if something turned sour. On the other hand, she wasn't completely opposed this idea. It was intriguing to think about how her male friends kissed, and it would be a lie to say she wasn't involved in the conception of the list in the first place. It could be fun as long as Ino didn't make them do anything too embarrassing.

Sakura glanced around the table to gauge everyone's reactions. Tenten was smiling giddily, Temari looked thoughtful, Hinata was blushing, and Ino had a devilish little grin on her face. She was practically sprouting invisible horns and a tail to match.

Temari nodded slowly. "I have to admit, this could turn out to be really fun."

Ino gave Sakura a mild 'I-told-you-so' face. "Tenten?" she asked, going around the table for opinions.

Tenten looked up. "I don't know…" she said, feigning reluctance. Her ecstatic grin betrayed her hesitant tone. "…Oh, who am I kidding? I'm looking forward to it. I've always wanted to kiss a whole bunch of guys with no strings attached!"

Ino widened her eyes gleefully. "Hinata?" she asked.

Hinata touched her fingertips together nervously. "I don't know…" she admitted. "I mean, I-I've never kissed anyone before. I was waiting for Naruto."

Now, Hinata was definitely not the shy introverted girl she once was. At least not to the previous extent. Within this group of friends, she was finding her voice and it felt _great_. It wasn't to say that she didn't have her moments – she was still timid around others, and quietness was in her nature. The biggest triggers were social situations – much like the one Ino was planning – and the mention of Naruto. Now that both were relevant, it was clear that she had reverted to her shyness once again.

Tenten gave her an encouraging smile and placed her hand on Hinata's shoulder. "Then this is your chance! You can take charge and make him kiss you! The party games will take the pressure off of you."

Temari nodded in agreement. "He can't exactly refuse if the whole party's cheering him on, right?" she added convincingly.

Hinata blushed harder and thought about that for a moment. They were right about that, after all.

The waitress came back with her arms full of plates. She passed out the dishes to everyone and filled their teacups before leaving once more.

"I'll do it!" Hinata said, breaking the silence. "I'm going to kiss him tonight!"

Ino gave her a silent but enthusiastic cheer. "You know that we're all rooting for you," she said. Hinata smiled and nodded. "Thanks," she said softly.

Sakura gave her a bright smile before taking a fork and picking at her salad a little. "So what should we wear tonight?" she asked Ino. "Is there a dress code?"

Ino had a small spoonful of soup before answering. "Well, there's no official dress code, but I want all of us girls to look really stunning. So, dresses, alright? They don't have to be too fancy, just any party dress will do. Oh, and preferably something the guys haven't seen you in yet."

Sakura stared at her plate and thought about that for a moment. "_Do I have anything like that_?_ How long has it been since I last bought a new dress_?_ Do I even have the money for a new dress?_"

She sighed. "Ino, I can't possibly afford a new dress," she admitted. "Does it _have_ to be something they've never seen?"

Tenten leaned one arm on the table, hand on her cheek. "I'm with Sakura on that one," she said, sounding defeated.

Ino looked at everyone at the table, their expressions all telling the same story. "I know what we're doing after lunch," she said with a wink. "Dress shopping!"

Sakura glanced at the clock and sighed heavily. Usually she was the picture of punctuality, but tonight of all nights she was running a little behind. Crouching in front of her hallway mirror, she slipped on her last pale blue wedge heel and stood up.

Ino really did have an impeccable fashion sense - not more than two seconds after the girls had set foot in the dress shop, Ino spotted this dress from across the room and knew it was the one for Sakura. It really was a beautiful one too - baby blue with black ribbon straps and a black ribbon tie around the waist. Although Sakura mostly wore red, blue really looked good on her and Ino knew that.

Sakura fixed the black hair ribbon where her headband was usually tied and adjusted her sapphire earring cuffs before deciding she was as ready as she'd ever be.

Not even halfway to Ino's house, Sakura saw Hinata and Tenten. "Hey you two!" Sakura cried, running up to her two friends as they made their way to the party. Hinata and Tenten stopped for a second and turned to see who it was.

"Oh! Sakura, it's you! Walk with us!" Tenten cried, putting a hand over her mouth as she looked at her pink-haired friend. "You look absolutely amazing in that dress!"

"Well you girls look twice as gorgeous as I do!" Sakura replied as the three began walking again, marveling at how her two friends looked.

Hinata was wearing a short sparkly navy blue dress with tulle puffing out the skirt of the dress. A large white satiny ribbon was tied around her petite waist. Tenten was clad in a silver strapless A-line dress with a sweetheart neckline. It hugged her curves perfectly.

Because of their relationships to Neji, Tenten and Hinata spent a lot of time together and had become best friends; there was no doubt in Sakura's mind that the two of them had gotten ready together, did each other's hair and makeup and things like that. Tenten's hair was down for once, and although nothing special had been done to it, it was a nice change of pace to see her medium-length brown locks framing her face instead of pulled up in her usual tight buns. Hinata was the complete opposite case. Her long bluish-purple hair had been pulled up into a large bun, a few loose strands coming down on either side of her face.

"I wouldn't say we look _twice_ as good as you do, Sakura," Hinata said sweetly. "We all look great and Ino picked out the perfect dress for each of us. She really knows her stuff."

Tenten stifled a laugh. "Yeah, she knows everything except how to pick comfy shoes," she said dryly. She was holding onto Hinata's arm for support as they walked - she was a bit unsteady in her tall silver heels. Hinata didn't have to worry about falling over in her white ballet flats.

Sakura looked to the corner and immediately saw Ino's house on the end - it'd be hard to miss. Multicolored lights were flashing from inside and balloons were strung on her mailbox.

"Looks like we're not the first ones here," Tenten observed. "There's already a party started."

The three sped up their walking as they neared Ino's house. When they arrived, they climbed the front steps to the door and knocked. After a few moments of no reply, Sakura pounded furiously on the door. "Open up, Ino-pig!" She cried.

Ino opened the door with a big smile on her face. Clearly she was prepared to greet anyone and everyone like this because when she saw who it was, she squealed with delight. "I'm so glad you girls are here! Come on in!" she exclaimed.

She was wearing a very short skintight sleeveless iridescent purple dress. There was a collective jaw drop as they looked at her footwear - she towered over everyone in 6-inch heels. How she managed to stand in those was a complete mystery.

The three of them exchanged glances before walking into Ino's house. Well, her living room to be precise. Sakura took a moment to look around the room. Multicolored streamers were hung from the ceiling and corners, and balloons floated lazily along the walls and floor, not tied to anything and quickly losing air. The overhead lights were dimmed, and a party-style light flashed different colors in sync with the music playing on the stereo. Not Ino's best work, but it served the purpose for what this party was really thrown for.

"Hey," a lazy voice said from beside Sakura. Sakura felt a nervous flutter in her stomach – she knew who that voice belonged to. She turned and saw Shikamaru and Choji slumped into the couch. They were actually pretty dressed up for this party - Shikamaru was clad in red skinny jeans and a black leather jacket over a tight white V-neck shirt. His cartilage was pierced, and he had gone back to his small hoop earrings, wearing two in one ear and three in the other. Choji was wearing one of those joke t-shirts with the tuxedo print on the front. His hand was in a bowl of chips.

"Guess we're a little underdressed, huh?" Choji observed, referring to everyone's fancy dresses.

"We're girls. Of course we have to look perfect for a party," Ino piped in. "It's what we do!"

Tenten and Sakura shared an equally pained glance – not everyone was as fashion-oriented or just plain crazy as Ino.

"And that's enough of that," Ino continued, swiping the bowl of chips from Choji and receiving a protest in response. "You've eaten enough for now. I want you two to be social. Mingle." She ordered before bringing the bowl into the kitchen.

Shikamaru threw his head back and sighed over dramatically.

"Didn't realize it was such a hassle to talk to your friends," Sakura commented dryly. Shikamaru shrugged. "Well, it takes effort to socialize, you know," he said, giving a rare smile, one where his pale pink lips parted slightly to reveal his perfect white teeth.

Sakura could feel her face getting hot. Maybe it was because she knew there would be kissing later on, but she was feeling really flirty tonight. She didn't peg Shikamaru for the skinny jeans type, but he looked good in them. _Really_ good.

"You look n-nice, Choji," Hinata said, taking a seat next to him on the couch. With the attention immediately going to Shikamaru at first, she didn't want him to feel left out. "Yeah, I like your shirt," Sakura added genuinely. Choji put an arm behind his head and grinned sheepishly. "Gee, thanks!" He said, a hint of blush visible on his cheeks.

Tenten sat down in the armchair next to the couch and took off her heels with a groan. "Never again," she sighed, stretching out her feet and rotating her ankles. "I don't know how you do it, Ino."

Ino, who had been working on something in the kitchen, popped back into the living room upon hearing her name. "What? Oh! It just takes practice! If you wore heels as often as I do, you'd be great at walking in them too!" She exclaimed.

It was true. For Ino, fashion came before practicality any day.

Ino opened her mouth to say something else, but was interrupted by a knock at the door. She instantly perked up and ran to answer it.

"Hey!" She cried. "Come on in!" Everyone turned to look at who was here. It was Kiba and... Was that _Shino_?

Kiba immediately made his presence known. "It's ok guys, the party can start now. I'm here," he announced loudly. That was the great thing about Kiba - no matter how self-centered he sounded, everyone knew it was all in good fun. He never failed to liven up the place.

Sakura admired his outfit - a tight black V-neck over slim white jeans and black boots. He had one small spike through each earlobe, and a fang necklace hung loosely around his neck. He looked good.

Hinata had made her way over to the boys and began talking with Kiba. Sakura was taken aback by her boldness until she remembered that they were her teammates. Duh. Of _course_ she was going to be outgoing and talkative around them. Even though they weren't officially team Kurenai anymore, the four of them still trained and went on missions together, as did most of their graduating class with their own squads.

Even though the three of them spent a lot of time together, it was Kiba and Hinata who did most of the talking - Shino was standing by, staring at the floor silently. It was like he was content with taking a backseat to Kiba's loud and outgoing personality. Well, no... Content wasn't the right word.

Shino had obviously taken quite the leap out of his comfort zone - he was wearing black wrist warmers, black skinny jeans, and a blue-gray thermal shirt with the sleeves rolled up. No sunglasses and no hood. Without anything to obscure his facial expression, Sakura could see that he looked almost... Nervous? Yeah, nervous. His eyes were glued to the floor, hands in his pockets.

His spiky hair and quiet demeanor were the only things reminiscent of old Shino. Kiba definitely had a hand in this - his clothes fit Kiba's tastes to a tee.

Sakura caught herself staring. It was unusual to see that much of Shino's face all at once.

And what a face it was. That pale, flawless skin, those narrow, piercing dark eyes... Shino was actually _handsome_.

That was just weird. Shino was supposed to be the creepy bug guy, not the handsome one. No, that role was reserved for Neji or Kiba or even Shikamaru. Well, at least in Sakura's opinion, anyways. She had a thing for the lazy genius.

But Shino? Handsome? Those words were foreign in a sentence together.

Sakura couldn't help but turn her head to look at Tenten and gauge her reaction to Shino's new look. Tenten immediately gave Sakura a knowing stare, raising her eyebrows to show her surprise.

"Y-you look good, Shino," Hinata said. "I'm glad you guys made it!"

Ino widened her eyes and looked at Sakura and Tenten. "That's _Shino_?!" She mouthed in shock.

Sakura gave a small confirmatory nod. Ino's eyes widened more as she glanced between her female friends. "Girls? Can I have a word with you in the kitchen?" She asked urgently. The girls followed her into the other room.

The four of them stood next to Ino's small kitchen table, circled up in a huddle. "So what's this about?" Hinata asked. Ino gave her a serious look. "It's absolutely vital that we talk about this breaking news. Shino is _hot_."

Tenten nodded. "Definitely have to agree with you on that one."

Ino turned and glanced into the other room as if she was making sure no one was listening. There was no door separating the two rooms, after all. Ino turned back around to face the others. "That's a serious piece of man-candy, girls."

Hinata was blushing silently - this was her teammate they were talking about, after all.

There was the sound of music abruptly stopping in the other room. The girls turned and looked into the living room. Kiba was crouched in front of the TV, fiddling with the DVD player and changing around the wiring on the TV. The others were crowded around, watching him. He was up to something.

"Is there even a place for him on the list?" Sakura asked everyone, bringing their attention back into their circle.

"You know, now that I think about it, I don't think there is," Ino said. "Any thoughts?"

Tenten glanced into the other room for a second before returning to the group huddle. "I don't think so. Yeah, he's a total hottie, but he doesn't have the experience. I'd say he's maybe a 3 out of 10."

Sakura nodded. He was still the same old Shino as before, after all – smart, quiet, and a little creepy. Nothing had changed except for his outfit.

Ino looked into the other room longingly. Sakura looked back at the party to see what Ino was staring at. Kiba was standing in front of a flashing TV, a microphone in one hand and the DVD remote in the other.

Ino brightened up. "Karaoke!" She cried, running back into the living room.

_How the hell is she running in those heels?_

Sakura, Hinata, and Tenten walked into the other room as well. It _was_ karaoke! "What are you going to sing?" Hinata asked as she approached her teammate. Kiba smirked, showing his fangs. "I popped a CD in. You'll hear it in a sec," he said excitedly.

There was a knock at the door, startling everyone. They all had their attention fixed on the TV. Ino jumped up and ran to the door. "Nobody move! I've got it!" She cried. No one had even budged from their spots.

"C'mon everyone, don't all go at once," Shikamaru said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. There were a few chuckles in response.

Ino opened the door, and the sand siblings stepped inside. "Come on in!" Ino squealed, gesturing towards the living room. A few people got up to give hugs and greetings.

"Temari, you look beautiful!" Sakura cried as she hugged the fan-wielding kunoichi. Temari squeezed her tight and let go, a huge grin on her face. "Thanks!" She replied. She was wearing a short black dress with fishnet sleeves and fishnet stockings under knee-high black leather boots. "You do too!"

Sakura smiled and turned to Temari's brothers. They had both cleaned up very nicely - Kankuro was wearing a white button-down shirt tucked into slim black jeans, complete with no makeup. Gaara was in a black and white horizontally-striped shirt under a navy blue suit jacket and navy skinny jeans. They both looked great.

"It's so good to see you guys," Sakura said genuinely. "I'm really glad you could make it."

Gaara gave a rare warm smile. "It's great to be here," he replied.

Sakura opened her mouth to say something in return, but she and Temari were quickly whisked away by Ino.

Ino led the two into the kitchen, an iron grip on each of their wrists.

"What's the emergency, pig?" Sakura asked in irritation. "I was talking to Kankuro and Gaara!"

"I wanted to catch Temari up on everything that's happened so far, forehead," Ino said bluntly.

"Then why the hell did you drag me along?"

Ino rolled her eyes and gave an impatient sigh, as if the answer was so obvious. "Because it would seem weird if I dragged only Temari away and not you too, _duh_."

Temari cleared her throat. "So what happened so far?" She asked.

Ino nodded, getting herself back on track. "So far we're only missing Naruto, Lee, Sai, and Neji."

Temari perked up. "So Shikamaru's here?" She asked hopefully.

Ino nodded. "Yeah, the lazy shit's sitting on the couch, but there's another guy I want to tell you about!"

Temari raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

Ino clasped her hands excitedly. "Yes! Shino!"

"The weird bug guy?"

The three were distracted by the sound of loud music starting up. Ino glanced into the other room, a worried expression on her face. She didn't want to miss out on Kiba's singing.

Sakura nodded. "He's actually really good-looking," she said, bringing their attention back to the kitchen. "Who knew, right?"

Temari pondered that for a moment. "I need to see this for myself," she said in disbelief.

The three of them walked back to the party. Kiba was screaming along to the music, and doing a pretty darn good job of it too. Sakura instantly recognized the song as_ Jezebel_ by Memphis May Fire. She smiled - Kiba sounded _just_ like the lead singer. Memphis was Kiba's all-time favorite band.

Temari widened her eyes and looked at Sakura. "He's really good!" she mouthed in surprise. Sakura nodded enthusiastically. Kiba was quite the multitalented man, actually. In addition to being the perfect screamo singer, he also sang well in the traditional sense and was surprisingly good at chemistry and working in the lab setting. On the off chances when Lady Tsunade ordered Shikamaru, Sakura, and Kiba to get together in the lab, they made the ultimate chemistry dream team. He wasn't a complete moron unless he hung around with Naruto for a little.

Everyone was gathered around, watching and enjoying. It wasn't a traditional karaoke cd, no - the words weren't on the screen for everyone to follow along to, but his act was so mesmerizing that everyone watched anyways. Kiba was enjoying every minute of it- he loved attention.

That's why everyone was startled when the door flew open – they had become completely entranced by Kiba's performance. "I'm here, everyone!" A shrill voice announced from the doorway. It was Naruto.

Lee ran past Naruto into the living room and held up his arms victoriously. "I am here as well!" He cried, standing tall as if he had just won a race.

Sai poked his head around Naruto and waved. "Hello, everyone," he said with a smile.

Ino walked up to him, instantly turning on the charm. "Hey, Sai! I'm _SO_ glad you could make it! It wouldn't be the same without you here!" Ino gushed, batting her eyelashes more than necessary.

"I brought chicken wing dip," Sai said simply, holding out a pan in an offertory gesture.

Ino gasped dramatically. "Thank you Sai! You're such a sweetheart, and _so_ cute!" She said, taking the pan from him and eyeing him hungrily - he was wearing blue skinny jeans and a gray sweater vest over a red tie and white collared shirt.

_Think Sai think... Say the opposite of what you actually think... _

"Of course, gorgeous," he said.

Ino practically melted. Tenten, who was standing nearby, happened to see these events unfolding and, with quick thinking, stepped in and took the pan from Ino so she wouldn't drop it. "Thank you, Sai," she said as she placed it on the coffee table gingerly. She gently sat Ino in an unoccupied armchair so she wouldn't make an even bigger spectacle of herself by fainting.

Sai hung his head and sighed. _If I call a girl ugly, she hits me, but if I call her beautiful she passes out_… "Will I ever win?"

With all of the commotion going on, no one had even noticed Neji standing in the doorway, his eyebrows raised in annoyance. "I get dragged along by art boy and the duo of morons just to be ignored?" He asked dryly. Those morons - Lee and Naruto - were currently making their presences known.

Naruto had made his way over to Kiba and began to battle him for the microphone, desperately trying to pull it from his hands.

Lee had his sights set on Sakura. He immediately made his way over to her, target sighted and locked. She didn't notice him coming until it was too late and he was right in front of her.

"Sakura, you are like a ravishing youthful flower in full bloom!" He professed, kneeling down and holding onto her hands. Sakura glanced over her shoulder, looking for someone to save her. She caught the gaze of Shikamaru and Choji. "Help!" She mouthed desperately, before turning back to Lee. She gave him a strained smile.

"Hello Lee," she said as calmly as possible. It was taking every ounce of her self-control to keep from sending him through the wall. "I see you're not wearing spandex," she said. "It's nice."

Lee was wearing a green t-shirt over tan khakis. It was certainly a welcome change.

"Thank you Sakura. It makes me shed manly tears because you think so!" He said loudly.

Sakura looked around for a way out. It's not that she disliked Lee, it was just... Well, he was a lot to take all at once, and his incessant attempts at courtship got annoying after a while.

"I think I heard Tenten calling me," Sakura fibbed, trying to get away. _Gosh I'm such a terrible person or trying to ditch him…_

Lee widened his eyes. "I must talk to Tenten as well!" He cried.

_Great going Sakura, use his teammate as an excuse..._

Sakura scanned the room for Tenten, and found her chatting with Neji.

"You called me, Tenten?" Sakura asked, approaching the two of them.

"I didn't call you Saku- oh!" Tenten said, turning around. The look of confusion on her face turned to understanding when she saw that Lee was trailing Sakura. The pink-haired kunoichi was smiling nervously, gesturing towards him with her eyes.

"Oh, oh right," she said in realization. "_Right_! I uh… I wanted you to, uh... Help me fix my hair! You too, Neji!" She lied.

Sakura smiled for real this time. She could always count on Tenten to help her out in a pinch.

Neji frowned. "Why do we need to fix your hair? It looks perfe-!"

He was cut off as Tenten slapped a hand over his mouth and dragged the both of them into a side hallway.

"What was all of that about?" Neji asked irritably when the three of them were out of sight. "Your hair doesn't need fixing."

Tenten sighed. "Relax, Neji. If I'm guessing correctly, Lee was coming on too strong and Sakura needed to get away. Am I right?"

Sakura sighed and slumped against the wall. "You're dead-on correct. He called me a 'youthful flower in full bloom.'"

Neji shook his head and brought a hand to his forehead. "Idiot."

Sakura frowned. _Is Lee an idiot because of how he acted or because he finds me attractive? Is it idiotic to find me attractive?!_

"Am I really that terrible?" She asked, feeling slightly irritated. "It's idiotic to like me?!"

Neji's facial expression softened somewhat. "That's not what I meant," he said, placing a hand on Sakura's shoulder. "He doesn't know when to back off, that's all. He doesn't listen to me or Tenten when it comes to that sort of thing and he can't take a hint. He'd be an idiot _not_ to like you."

Sakura and Tenten shared an equally shocked glance. He was being uncharacteristically nice. "What's gotten into you?" Sakura asked. "You're actually not being an ice cube for once."

"Yeah," Tenten added. "Earlier you said my hair was perfect. What's up with that?"

Neji sighed and looked around to make sure no one else was listening. Apparently this was really confidential stuff. "I'm trying to be a little nicer. Apparently I come across as cold and heartless, so I wanted to show that I'm not a bad guy. I _am_ pleasant and I _can_ have fun."

Neji blushed after he said this, as if he were embarrassed. Now that he mentioned his behavioral transformation, Sakura could see that his outfit was totally laid-back and out of character. The coffee-haired shinobi was wearing an open light blue plaid button-down shirt over a white t-shirt. His brown pants were rolled up to show off his unconventional footwear - flip flops.

Sakura and Tenten exchanged another look. Neji looked even hotter dressed like this than he did usually.

"Well, we'd better get back to the party before Lee comes looking for us," Tenten said. Neji and Sakura nodded in agreement and the three of them made their way back to the party, scanning the room for Lee.

They found him holding the microphone with Naruto, getting ready for another song to start. Kiba was standing to the side, his arms folded. He looked pissed.

Tenten's eyes widened in alarm. "Oh no, no, no… Those two should _NOT _be allowed to sing," she said worriedly as she began to make her way over to them. "They're tone-deaf!"

Just as Tenten began fighting to pry the microphone from their hands, Ino stepped into the center of the room and cleared her throat loudly.

"Attention everyone!" She shouted. Very few people quieted down to listen to her. Folding her arms and frowning, she tried again. "HEY EVERYONE, SHUT THE FUCK UP!"

The room fell silent. Ino smiled, pleased with herself. "Much better. Now that we've all had a chance to socialize, it's time to play a party game!"

* * *

...

...

**There's the first chapter! Tell me what you think (review please!) :) I'm thinking there will be about three chapters total and I'll update when I can! (And if you like the story or not, I might decide to update if I hear enough from you).**

**Anyways, thank you for reading! - Gallade**


	2. Chapter 2: Spin-the-bottle

**Hey everyone! I'm happy that you decided to go on to the next chapter :) Enjoy! Here's chapter 2: Spin-the-bottle  
**

* * *

**Chapter 2: Spin-the-bottle**

_"Now that we've all had a chance to socialize, it's time to play a party game!" Ino announced._

Sakura felt her heart speed up. This was it. Soon Ino's plan would come into action.

"Is everyone in? Once you agree, you can't back out." Ino said. There were general nods of agreement from everyone. "Good!" Ino went over to a shelf and grabbed something. "We're going to play spin-the-bottle!" She practically sang, holding out the empty root beer bottle for everyone to see.

Sakura waited for the sound of protests, but was shocked when there were none. The guys were actually into this?

"Form a circle," Ino instructed. Kiba and Choji moved the coffee table to make room. Everyone sat down in a circle, some more hesitantly than others. Sakura took a seat next to Shikamaru, hopeful that they would actually get to talk. Shikamaru was her good friend and they hadn't gotten any real time together at all tonight. She opened her mouth to say something but was cut off as Ino plopped herself between the two. "Of course…" Sakura muttered under her breath.

Ino leaned in and spun the bottle in the center of the circle. Everyone watched and waited nervously. It stopped on Kankuro. "Alright, now Kankuro is going to spin the bottle to see who he's going to kiss, and then that person will spin the bottle to see whose turn it is next. Then they'll spin the bottle to see who they're going to kiss, and it goes on. Got it?" Ino said from her place in the circle.

Kankuro's eyes widened. "Wait, I have to do _what_?" He cried, visibly upset.

"That sounds like a lot of work and a lot of bottle spinning," Shikamaru complained, interrupting Kankuro.

Ino frowned and smacked Shikamaru in the back of the head. "Shut up, you lazy little -"

"Excuse me," Kankuro said loudly, interrupting their little squabble. "I have to do _WHAT_?!"

Ino turned her head back to the game. "You have to kiss someone, silly! This _IS_ a kissing game after all."

"Troublesome woman…" Shikamaru mumbled under his breath while rubbing the back of his head where Ino hit him.

Sakura looked from Kankuro to Gaara. The two of them looked equally mortified. Apparently this wasn't a popular party game in Suna...

"Spin the bottle," Ino instructed. Kankuro leaned in and spun the bottle. It spun around and around, finally slowing and stopping on Sakura.

Sakura felt her heart skip a beat. She was going first? She had to kiss Kankuro?

She made eye contact with the puppet master and felt her heart rate speed up ever so slightly. She gave a small nod and the two of them crawled on all fours to the center of the circle to meet.

"Well, this is kinda embarrassing..." Kankuro admitted in a whisper. Sakura frowned. "How come? This isn't your first time kissing someone, right?"

Kankuro sighed. "No, it's not."

"Then is it because it's me?" Sakura asked, feeling somewhat hurt by the notion. Ever since the poisoning incident three years back, the two of them had become acquaintances, friends even. They didn't get to see each other as often as she would like because of the distance, but they hung out whenever she visited Suna or the sand siblings visited Konoha. She enjoyed spending time with Kankuro, and it hurt to think that maybe – maybe he didn't like her?

Kankuro looked to the side. "That's not it either. I'm actually thrilled that it's you. It's just that everyone will be watching us."

Sakura sighed, feeling relieved. Okay, so he didn't _dislike_ her, that was good. Wait…

Did he say he was _thrilled _it was her?!

She decided to let that point of inquiry slide and focused on the last part of his statement. She nodded her head understandingly. It _was _kind of nerve-wracking that everyone was watching them…

Ino sighed audibly. "C'mon Sakura, quit dilly-dallying and show him some Konoha hospitality!" She leaned in and gave Sakura's shoulders a shove.

Sakura's breath caught in her throat as she fell forward and felt her lips meet with Kankuro's.

Sakura felt her face get hot. Kankuro sat there with wide eyes, stiff as a board.

_Oh god oh god he doesn't want to kiss me..._

Kankuro sighed and closed his eyes before easing into the kiss. He grabbed Sakura's wrists in each hand and pressed his lips to hers with much more force and meaning.

_Ok, maybe he was just startled before… he's a lot more into th- …wow. His lips are so soft_. Sakura let out a small sigh of contentment as she closed her eyes and leaned in to his lips, tilting her head and placing her hands on his shoulders.

Kankuro took that as a good sign. He brought a hand up gently to her cheek and quickened the pace, kissing her again and again. Sakura felt his tongue begin to trace the outline of her lips and complied, opening her mouth and letting her tongue meet his.

"Get a room..." Naruto called loudly. The two of them quickly pulled apart, their faces beet red.

Sakura glanced sheepishly at Kankuro to gauge his reaction, hoping that he wasn't too embarrassed by their interruption. After all, he was the one who was so worried about everyone watching them.

He was blushing feverishly, biting his lip and looking down at the floor to avoid eye contact with anyone. He clearly enjoyed that as much as she did and it was obvious that he was embarrassed by Naruto's reminder that there was an audience. It was kind of adorable how dark his blush was becoming, the tell-tale smile still present and announcing to everyone that he was totally into the kiss.

"_I might have to get another taste of Kankuro later on_," Sakura mused, leaning in to spin the bottle before returning to her spot in the circle. Ino turned to Sakura and raised one eyebrow. Sakura nodded and gave a small smile and whispered, "I'll tell you later."

The bottle slowed and stopped on Temari. "Now you spin the bottle and see who you'll kiss," Ino reminded. Temari leaned into the circle and spun the bottle. It spun for a few moments and stopped on Neji.

Sakura made eye contact with Temari. "Lucky!" She mouthed. Temari nodded eagerly. Neji was extremely attractive and seeing as he hardly ever showed affection to anyone, this was a rare opportunity indeed.

Neji pointed at himself. "_Me_?" He asked. Ino made a 'duh' gesture. "Yes you! Go kiss her!"

The two met in the center of the circle. Neji leaned in, quite obviously uncomfortable but his Hyuga pride making him unwilling to admit it. Call it women's intuition, but Sakura could see that through his stoic façade he was actually quite flustered for some unknown reason. Cool-as-cucumber Neji Hyuga was _actually _losing it over something as insignificant as a kiss in spin-the-bottle.

Giving an unenthusiastic sigh, he gave Temari a quick peck on the cheek. "There," he said.

Ino shook her head. "No no NO! That's not how it works! You have to kiss her on the lips and it has to last at least three seconds," she cried.

There were a few worried mumbles around the circle, presumably from guys who had the same idea Neji had. If they didn't want to kiss their partner on the lips, they would go for the cheek.

"I'm not entirely sure I want to play this game..." Sai said worriedly.

Ino looked nervous for about half a second. This could ruin her plans and end the game prematurely, which was _not_ something she wanted to risk. She needed convincing damage control. "It'll be fun, I promise!" She said. "Besides, you all already agreed to play. There's no backing out now!"

Neji sighed and looked down.

Temari smirked. "What's wrong, pretty boy? I can't be _that_ awful to kiss."

Neji sighed even heavier. "It's not that. Look, you're a really nice girl and all, but I just don't have those kinds of feelings for you."

"That's the point of the game," Tenten piped in. "Kissing with no strings attached!"

Neji glared at his teammate – she wasn't helping his case at all. He turned and looked back at Temari, who nodded in a way that meant "see?"

He took a breath and leaned in to kiss her. She closed her eyes in anticipation for a kiss that rivaled the one Kankuro and Sakura had shared only moments before, but was disappointed when the stoic shinobi gave her a passionless kiss, barely even pressing his lips to hers, and pulled away after his time was up. She looked at him longingly for a second before hanging her head and returning to her spot in the circle.

Neji spun the bottle and sat down again. Everyone watched in anticipation as the bottle spun and spun. It finally stopped on Kiba. "Aw yeah!" He cheered excitedly, leaning in and spinning the bottle again. It landed on Ino.

Ino squealed excitedly and met Kiba in the center of the circle. They locked lips without hesitation, without a single word exchanged.

"They should get a room too..." Naruto mumbled grumpily. Lee elbowed Naruto in the side. "Do not be so upset, Naruto! You will get your turn to experience a passionate kiss too!"

After a kiss that seemed like it would have lasted forever, the two pulled apart, panting for air. "Thanks," Ino said with a wink. Kiba narrowed his eyes and smiled mischievously. "Any time."

Ino spun the bottle before returning to her seat. It went around a few times before stopping on Hinata. She blushed twenty shades of red. "Do I _have _to?" She asked softly, her lavender eyes pleading with Ino. She was having second thoughts about this whole thing, and… and… kissing someone? In front of everyone?! That was completely unthinkable!

Tenten locked eyes with her best friend and nodded encouragingly. "You've got this, Hinata. I know you can do it."

Hinata nodded and reluctantly leaned in to spin the bottle. Tenten was right – there was a reason she was doing this!

Sakura watched nervously as the bottle spun around – she was hoping for Hinata's sake that it would land on Naruto.

It came to a halt facing Choji. He gave a small smile, his cheeks tinted pink.

"Oh..." Hinata said, failing to hide the disappointment in her tone.

Choji's face fell, the excitement he showed only seconds before had vanished. "I understand if you don't want to kiss me. I don't blame you," he said, sounding dejected. Shikamaru patted him on the back comfortingly. "I don't think that's it, buddy," he said, knowing perfectly well the reason why Hinata was disappointed.

Hinata balled her hands into fists and stood, her mind made up. "Choji, I'd love to kiss you, but first there's something I need to say," she announced.

Everyone fell dead silent, surprised by her sudden boldness.

"I haven't had my first kiss, and I won't have that kiss with anyone other than Naruto!"

Naruto scratched his head. "Why me?" He asked, dumbfounded.

Temari sighed loudly. "Because she's head over heels for you, dumbass."

Choji stood up as well, taking his place opposite Hinata. His facial expression was soft, understanding, relieved. "Hinata, I'm glad you spoke up. I don't want you to be unhappy with your first kiss." He stepped to the side. "I think you owe her something," he said, turning to Naruto.

Hinata's mind was made up. She walked up to Naruto and knelt in front of him, grabbing the front of his black t-shirt and pulling him close. His striking blue eyes were wide with surprise as they met her determined lilac ones. She pressed her lips to his forcefully.

Sakura's breath caught in her throat, an involuntary smile stretching across her face. This was just so great for Hinata – Sakura couldn't help but feel a little bit proud of her boldness. Perhaps some boys _were_ really just that clueless when it came to romantic affairs, and being blatantly obvious was the only way to get through to them.

Hinata and Naruto were still lip-locked when Sakura came back from her thoughts. Good for them.

Naruto's eyelids fluttered a little as his hands moved to her petite waist. He seemed to be enjoying this.

After a few more moments, Hinata gave a squeak and pulled away, distancing herself quickly. "Sorry," she said softly.

Naruto gave her a goofy grin, still very clearly dazed and giddy. "Why're you sorry? That was awesome!"

Hinata's breath caught in her throat. He said it was _awesome_?

_He said it was awesome_!

She shrunk down, trembling in what seemed to be relief. Naruto responded by pulling her into a reassuring embrace, refusing to let her retreat into her shyness once more. Her wide eyes began to tear up as she was wrapped his arms. "Thank you..." She said breathlessly.

Naruto looked at her tenderly – a very uncharacteristic gesture – and smiled. "Hinata, I had no idea. Thank _you_."

It was Shikamaru who started the slow clapping that quickly turned into a round of applause. Hinata blushed and looked around the circle at all of her friends - they were clapping for _her._

She stood up and walked to the center of the circle to meet Choji. "_Now_ I can kiss you," she said warmly.

Choji nodded, blushing furiously as he pulled her in close and pressed his lips to hers softly. Hinata draped her arms around Choji's neck as he held onto her shoulders. They kissed for a few moments – a plain old kiss, really - before pulling away. Smiling giddily, Choji spun the bottle and returned to his place in the circle.

"Great job, buddy," Shikamaru said with a smile. "I'm proud of ya." Not that it was a thought that visited his mind often, but when Ino revealed that they were going to play spin the bottle, he had been worried for his Choji's sake that his first kiss wouldn't turn out well.

The bottle stopped on Hinata again. She blushed and slowly went to the center of the circle to spin. She was definitely back to her shy old self. It landed on Shikamaru.

Shikamaru looked just as disinterested as usual, but there was something more to his facial expression – was that _confidence_? The corner of his mouth was turned up slightly, his lopsided grin betraying the lazy expression in his eyes. He definitely seemed confident about something, and it frightened Sakura to think about what it possibly could be.

Hinata blushed nervously, unable to budge from her spot. This was the third guy she had to kiss, only one of whom was by choice. This whole ordeal was very stressful and she just wanted out.

"There's no need to be shy," Shikamaru encouraged as he crawled over to meet her.

"I won't bite, unless you're into that sort of thing of course."

Okay, that was _not_ something Sakura needed to hear. Well, at least not in a room full of people, anyways. His tone of voice threatened to set her face on fire with blush. Her stomach did flip-flops.

"N-no biting, thank you," Hinata stuttered.

Shikamaru shrugged. "Whatever you want, sweetheart." With that, he leaned in and pressed his lips against hers tenderly, one hand cupping her jawbone and the other resting on her shoulder. Hinata's eyes fluttered closed, a look of pure bliss on her face.

Sakura felt a momentary pang of jealously, but it quickly subsided when she reminded herself that it was just a game, nothing to get worked up over. She had no right to get jealous – Shikamaru wasn't _hers_, and he was only playing the game. It was just a game.

Still… Shikamaru seemed to be really into this, which worried Sakura a little. She tried to suppress the second wave of jealousy. Was this what he wanted? Did he have a thing for Hinata? He just seemed so invested in this kiss… But then again, that was just _so_ Shikamaru. Yeah, of course! Even though it was just a game, he wouldn't give any half-assed kisses. It was like he had gone through a complete transformation when the bottle landed facing him. Then again, it was just like him to make sure every girl got exactly what she wanted. "Troublesome?" Yeah, right.

Typical Shikamaru. Lucky Hinata.

"_Must be good..._" Sakura observed, noticing how Hinata had basically turned into a pile of jello in Shikamaru's arms.

Even though she wasn't doing the kissing, she had to admit that this was quite the turn-on. By being in the audience, she could get a feel for his kissing style just by observing and taking mental notes. Watching gave her mind a lot to work with.

Shikamaru pulled away, giving Hinata a cheeky smirk. "How was that?" He asked.

"Wow..." She said breathlessly, sounding astonished.

Sakura felt herself blushing. "_Must've_ been good," she muttered to herself aloud.

Hinata returned to her spot while Shikamaru spun the bottle. Sakura would definitely have to ask Hinata about it later. For science, of course.

The bottle slowed and stopped in front of Lee. He punched a fist into the air and grinned like a madman. "It is my turn to show the ladies a youthful display of loving!" He proclaimed, spinning the bottle enthusiastically.

Sakura cringed and hoped for the best. It would be her luck that she would be the one who kissed Lee. The next few seconds of watching the bottle spin seemed to last an eternity as she waited to see who it landed on.

"Tenten!" Lee cried. "You are the lucky one!"

Tenten paled, eyes wide. Lee held his arms open and puckered his lips in an unflattering manner. "I am ready!"

She looked at Ino, a disdainful 'do I _have_ to?' expression on her face. Ino nodded, gesturing with her hands to get on with it.

With a heavy sigh, Tenten turned back to Lee, whose lips were still pursed expectantly. _Might as well get this over with..._

She furrowed her brow and pressed her lips to his very lightly. Lee went to wrap his arms around her waist, but Tenten held his arms back, effectively blocking his efforts.

On one hand, Sakura was grateful it didn't land on her. That would have been horrifying. She couldn't help but feel guilty about her gratitude though... Tenten was the one who had to kiss Lee, and she felt bad about that. Still, it probably worked out for the best. Tenten was the girl who spent the most time around Lee, so it was only fitting.

Tenten kept her lips on Lee's for the bare minimum amount of time before pulling away, coughing. Lee was left with his eyes closed and tongue hanging out of his mouth.

She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and coughed again. Lee opened his eyes, looking puzzled. "Is everything alright Tenten?" He asked.

Tenten smiled bleakly. "Everything's just fine, Lee," she said as calmly as she could. Lee returned to his spot while Tenten spun the bottle. She shot Ino a glare and mouthed the words "you owe me."

Ino quickly turned her head and pretended she saw nothing. The ceiling had suddenly become very interesting.

The bottle stopped to face Ino. Her face lit up like a kid in a candy store. "Yay!" She squealed, leaning into the circle to spin the bottle. Her skintight dress was dangerously close to revealing her backside as she leaned forward.

It was in this moment that Sakura realized just how much this game meant to Ino - as flirty and outgoing as she was, she was never one to be trashy. She was so invested in this game that she didn't even seem to notice her impending fashion mishap.

"Ino, watch the back of your dress," Sakura whispered through the side of her mouth, as any good friend would do. The warning fell on deaf ears – the blonde was way too into this game to care.

...

Up until this point, Gaara had begun to slouch back, lost in his thoughts. It was pretty boring to watch everyone else play a game while you sat around and did nothing. He was staring at the carpet in front of him when he felt many eyes on him. He looked up and glanced around the circle. Everyone was staring. He looked at the bottle and did a double take - it was pointing at him.

"_Me_?" He asked, pointing at himself in disbelief. Temari, who was sitting next to him, nodded. "You have to kiss Ino."

Gaara's sea-green eyes widened, a prominent blush spreading across his face. Ever since he first laid eyes on her at the chunin exams, even if it was only for a brief moment in passing, he'd always thought Ino was beautiful. And tonight? Tonight she looked absolutely breathtaking. That dress hugged her like a second skin and the smile she wore all night made all of her features light up.

When Ino and the other girls would come over to have their sleepover parties with Temari, he and Kankuro made a game of spying on the girls. He never really got up the courage to talk to her, but he wished he did. Even though he was the Kazekage, he still felt she was way out of his league. She was powerful, confident, and beautiful all in one.

Gaara blushed and looked at Ino. The color of his face was clashing horribly with his hair. "I-it's ok," he stuttered uncharacteristically. "I won't make you kiss me if you don't want to."

Ino leaned in and pressed her lips to Gaara's without a second to spare.

Gaara's eyes widened in surprise. _She _kissed_ him_!

Ino pulled away and smiled. "Of course I want to kiss you. Why wouldn't I?"

Gaara gave no reply. He grabbed the sides of Ino's face and pressed his lips to hers for another kiss. This was way too good to be true.

Sakura's eyes widened a little as she watched them in disbelief. This was _Gaara_, after all. Since when did he ever outwardly show any sort of emotion, let alone affection? He wasn't one to jump right in before carefully calculating the outcome, nor was he ever really the first one to act, and so impulsively nonetheless. Perhaps Ino's affinity for all things romance was contagious after all. Gaara's mouth was open, that much was obvious - they were French kissing, and things were heating up really fast.

Tenten looked across the circle at Sakura worriedly. Ino and Gaara were really caught up in this and it didn't look like they would stop if it got any farther. Sakura nodded at Tenten and bit her lip to show worry. Tenten smiled nervously and stood up, squeezing her way between the two, forcing them to reluctantly pull apart.

"Just a friendly reminder that we're all still here," Tenten said with a sense of urgency. "Continue this later if you need to."

Gaara and Ino eyed each other hungrily. They looked ready to pounce on one other. "Meet me after the party," Ino said with a wink. Gaara nodded. "Later sounds good."

Sakura sighed and looked at the floor in front of her. Ino had all the luck - first Kiba and now Gaara, the _Kazekage_ for crying out loud! Boys always came flocking to her, even in a game based on pure dumb luck. Not to say that she wasn't happy with her kiss with Kankuro, but it had been a while since she had a turn. Ino and Gaara made out and now they were basically planning on having sex later.

Sakura thought about that for a moment - would she be ok with losing her virginity in a one-night stand? Probably not. That kiss with Kankuro was nice, and she definitely wanted to explore it a little further, but jumping right into bed with him? That was crazy, even though he probably _would_ make for a nice first time… Wait, what was she _thinking_?!

"Sakura, it's your turn to spin!" Someone said. Sakura shook her head, clearing her thoughts and coming back to reality. She was so deep in thought that she hasn't even noticed the bottle spinning again. She leaned in and spun. It went around a few times before stopping on Sai.

Sai looked at the bottle and then at Sakura, giving her a dull stare. "I have to kiss the hag?" he asked bluntly. Sakura's face grew red with anger. "What did you call me?!" She cried, standing up. The nerve! She knew her teammate had a nasty habit of saying hurtful things because he didn't understand social interaction, but he knew better by now than to call her a hag!

Sai continued to give her a blank stare. "I'm sorry. Would you prefer I called you ugly instead?" He asked seriously, standing up to meet her at eye level.

That did it. Sakura brought back her arm and swung a fist. Sai was about to get the beating of the century. She felt a hand grab her fist and stop her before she got to hit her target.

It was Kankuro.

Sakura paused and looked at Kankuro in confusion. "Let me go!" Sakura demanded, struggling to break free of Kankuro's iron grip. "I need to teach him a lesson!"

Kankuro looked into Sakura's eyes. "I'm not going to let go, you know. Don't struggle."

Sakura frowned and stopped for a second. "He called me ugly! I can't let him get away with that!"

"But you know it's not true, Sakura. _You_ know you're not ugly, _I _know you're not ugly, and everyone else here knows you're not ugly, right guys?" Kankuro said, turning to the circle for an answer. There were several nods and hums of agreement.

Sakura looked at her feet. "But why did you stop me? _You_ specifically." She didn't expect Kankuro to be the peacemaker.

Kankuro blushed a little. "Because… I think you're beautiful and I hate seeing you get so worked up over a nickname," he said, sounding a little embarrassed. He turned his head to look at Sai. "I think it would be best if you said something."

Sai folded his arms and sighed. "Sakura, I didn't exactly mean what I said. You're not ugly, and you know that. I guess it was kind of insensitive of me to call you that, but just know that when I made the nickname, it was the first word that popped into my head. Not the first word to describe you, just the first word in general."

Sakura's expression softened a little. That was probably the closest thing to an apology that she would get out of Sai. There was no use in pushing the issue further if she would only be met with resistance. And besides, this was progress. Sai was actually learning.

"You can let go now, Kankuro," Sakura said, letting her wrist fall slack. "I'm not going to hit him."

Kankuro looked at her and raised an eyebrow. "I promise," Sakura said, a little more forcefully this time.

Kankuro let go of Sakura's wrist and backed down, taking his place in the circle.

Sakura turned back to Sai. "So are we doing this thing or what?" She asked, massaging her temple. She could feel a wicked headache coming on.

Sai gave her one of his false smiles. "We don't really have much choice, do we?" He asked good-naturedly. He put his hands on her shoulders and looked her in the eyes for a moment.

"_Hold onto her and gaze deep into her eyes to make sure the moment is romantic_," Sai thought to himself, silently recalling his book on interpersonal relationships. "_Gently kiss her at first and give a few open-mouthed kisses to her bottom lip_."

Sai slowly leaned in and pressed his lips to hers. Sakura closed her eyes. Sai's full lips were incredibly soft, maybe even softer than hers.

_"After several well-received open-mouthed kisses, you can proceed to lick her lips. If she opens her mouth, you can continue." At least, that's what I think it said. I wish I had paid more attention to that chapter... I didn't think I'd be using this information so soon._

Sakura did exactly as expected, opening her mouth as soon as Sai's tongue danced across her lips. Sai took this opportunity to deepen the kiss, letting his tongue explore this new and foreign terrain.

Sakura moaned softly. Sai was a _much_ better kisser than she anticipated him to be. Normally, she would question where he had learned how to kiss like this, but her brain had turned into a pile of mush.

Sai pulled his tongue away and gave her one more open-mouthed kiss before slowly separating from her. He gave her a warm smile. "Was that to your liking?" He asked gently.

Sakura's eyes fluttered open. "That was incredible, Sai."

Sai smiled and spun the bottle. "_I think I actually like this kissing thing... I wouldn't mind doing it again_."

Sakura returned to her seat and sat down with a sigh of contentment. "That must've been good huh?" Ino said to her in a loud whisper. "I didn't know you were a moaner."

Sakura froze, all of her blood finding its way to her face. She turned to Ino nervously. "It wasn't _that_ loud, was it?" She asked. Ino nodded. "I'm pretty sure everyone could hear."

Sakura widened her eyes and stared at the floor in front of her, the blood rushing loudly in her ears. Maybe no one else heard her. Ino was sitting right there after all, right? Maybe she was the only one close enough to hear.

She hugged her knees in and hid her face. Who was she kidding? If Ino heard, everyone heard.

_Come on, Sakura, way to make a fool out of yourself. This is the most embarrassing thing you've done yet…_

Sakura heard Kiba howl loudly – it must be his turn. She looked up slowly, looking around the circle at everyone. Well, so far so good. No one was even paying attention to her as she sat like this. Maybe no one even notic-

Oh.

Shikamaru was staring at her, a dreamy half-lidded expression on his face.

He heard. _He heard._

Sakura hid her face behind her knees again, hugging her legs in tighter. She felt the blood rush back to her face immediately, making her dizzy. This _wasn't_ happening. She no longer cared if anyone else had heard her moan. Her only concern now was what Shikamaru was thinking about her.

_Why does he have that look on his face? What is he thinking about me?!_ _Maybe I can just crawl in a hole and die._

She was shaken out of her trance by Ino's shrill yell. "Shikamaru, it's your turn! Get off your ass and spin the bottle!" She cried.

Sakura looked up and glanced around the circle once more. Kiba was smirking dangerously and Temari was blushing. He must have gotten her, and gotten her good.

Shikamaru gave a heavy dramatic sigh and spun the bottle. Sakura quickly hid her face again – watching would be torture.

On one hand, she really wanted to be the one to kiss Shikamaru. She really _really_ liked him, and getting to kiss him would be a dream come true, but on the other hand, she couldn't handle anything at the moment. She wanted to just curl up and hide. Then again, she didn't want anyone else being the one to kiss Shikamaru. He was _hers_.

Here she was, getting all jealous again. It was just a game, for crying out loud! Why did she have to feel so jealous if some other girl kissed Shikamaru?

A big part of Sakura just wanted the game to end altogether. _Hasn't the game gone on long enough already?! Come on Ino, end it already… nearly everyone's had a turn, so just end it!_

Sakura felt a sharp poke in her ribcage. She looked to her side – Ino elbowed her roughly.

"C'mon, Sakura! It's your turn!"

Sakura blinked. "My… my turn?"

Ino rolled her eyes. "Yes your turn! You have to kiss Shikamaru!" She said.

Sakura felt her heart racing. This wasn't happening, it just couldn't be. How could this even _happen?_

She looked at Shikamaru nervously. He was smiling at her, a faint blush tinting his cheeks. Sakura let out a small strangled cry. Her legs refused to move. She was made of stone, she weighed a thousand tons, she couldn't even move if she wanted to.

"Get a move on forehead, you're slow as fuck," Ino cried.

Sakura mustered up her strength and tried desperately to make her muscles work. _Come on, now's not the time to be making an even bigger scene…_

_Success!_ Sakura forced her limbs to work, allowing her to slowly crawl over to meet Shikamaru.

"It's about time," Shikamaru said with a smirk as soon as Sakura met up with him. Sakura looked down, embarrassed. "Sorry, I didn't mean to keep you waiting over here, I –"

She was cut off when she felt Shikamaru place a large slightly calloused hand over her mouth. "That's not what I meant," Shikamaru said, his chocolate brown eyes focused on Sakura's emerald green ones. "I meant that it's about time that the two of us got a turn."

Sakura's heart was pounding wildly in her chest – did he really just say that?! Her hands were shaking from all of the adrenaline that was rushing through her system right now. She swallowed nervously, a lump forming in her throat. She ran a shaky hand through her hair nervously.

Shikamaru grabbed a hold of Sakura's hands, steadying them. He gave her a reassuring smile. "Relax, darling, I haven't even rocked your world yet."

Man, he had a high opinion of himself.

Shikamaru leaned in very slowly, almost painfully slow. Sakura could practically feel the static electricity Shikamaru was generating with all of this tension. Finally, he closed the gap between their lips, bringing a hand to her cheek and the other to the side of her neck as he pressed his lips to hers with force.

Sakura's eyelids fluttered closed, the sudden weight of what was going on clouded her mind. Shikamaru nipped at Sakura's lower lip gently and sweetly, to which she gratefully replied in kind. Shikamaru sighed contentedly as his tongue flicked across Sakura's lips in a request for her permission. Sakura more than happily obliged, opening her mouth and letting his tongue inside. Everything was picking up speed, going from slow to blindingly fast, and she was getting caught up in the heat of the moment. This was everything she had hoped it would be and more. Hinata's reaction to Shikamaru's kiss earlier was no joke.

She moaned loudly, no longer caring who heard or what they would think. The only ones who mattered were her and Shikamaru.

Shikamaru pulled away, gasping for breath. "Careful," he said. "I don't know how much longer I can hold out if you keep making sounds like that. Damn."

Sakura blushed and studied his features, giving a small nod to show him she heard. His deep brown eyes were burning with something that could only be described as fire. His lips, swollen and red from only moments ago, were parted as he breathed heavily. On closer inspection, Sakura could see that he had light tiny freckles sprinkled across the bridge of his nose, accentuated by the rosy blush that had taken over his face. Why, the expression he was wearing resembled the one Ino and Gaara bore earlier – he looked positively ready to pounce and eat her alive.

And she just might let him, too.

"I think it's time we move on to the last turn," Ino piped in, seizing the opportunity while Shikamaru and Sakura weren't lip-locked.

Sakura turned her head and gave Ino a 'What'd you do _that_ for?' look. Ino shrugged apologetically. Sakura sighed and spun the bottle reluctantly. That kiss was definitely too short for her liking.

She crawled back to her spot in the circle and thought about what just happened. _Things got quite heated there…_ She realized. _Maybe it's a good thing it stopped when it did, although I hate to admit it._

She glanced around the circle, hoping that no one was judging her poorly for everything that just happened. No one looked too out-of-the-ordinary, except for Kankuro.

Kankuro was sitting rather awkwardly, trying to look nonchalant but failing to completely mask the pained look on his face. His hands were resting in his lap as if he was hiding something.

_That's an odd way for him to be sitting… he looks like he's –_

_Oh._

It was like how watching Hinata and Shikamaru's kiss was enough to turn her on, Sakura realized. Poor Kankuro was desperately trying to hide the fact that watching her kiss Shikamaru had given him a boner.

The bottle, which had been spinning all along, finally slowed and stopped on Shino.

Wait, _Shino_?!

Everyone had nearly forgotten he was there. He hadn't had a single turn since the game started, nor had he said a single word. It was like he disappeared from the party altogether, even though he was here the whole time.

Shino frowned, the concerned expression on his face easy to see when he wasn't wearing sunglasses.

"_Wonder which of us will get Shino?_" Sakura wondered to herself. She looked around the circle at the other girls to see if she could catch their eyes. Temari looked at Sakura immediately and raised her eyebrows in a 'we'll see…' manner. Tenten looked dazed. Hinata seemed nervous. This was her teammate who she obviously viewed as more of a brother than anything else, and the prospect of having to kiss him was too much to fathom.

Sakura turned to look at Ino and saw a lively sparkle in her eyes. She was excited. Sakura breathed a heavy sigh and returned her attention to the bottle, which was slowing down. It came to a halt facing her.

Sakura looked up, feeling a strange sinking feeling in her stomach. She had absolutely nothing against Shino, and yet here she was feeling a little panicky at the thought of having to kiss him. Ino elbowed her excitedly, a huge grin on her face. "Go get some of that man-candy, forehead!" She said in a not-so-quiet whisper. "He's hot and ripe for the picking!"

"Shut up, Ino!" Sakura whispered back, turning to look at Shino. He hadn't moved from his place in the circle at all, and the expression he had on his face made it look like he wanted out. He seemed pretty nervous about this.

She sighed and crawled forward; if he wasn't going to make the first move, then she would. It was better to get this over with already… everyone was staring and it was making her anxious.

She met up with Shino on his side of the circle between Kiba and Hinata. "Hey," Sakura began nervously, not sure what to say.

"Hey…" Shino replied quietly, looking to the side and avoiding eye contact.

Sakura furrowed her brow and sat down, crossing her arms. Shino was acting a lot more timid than she ever remembered him being. Why was he acting so differently all of a sudden? Sure, he was always quiet, but he seemed so confident in everything he did up until now. This party had him acting nervous all night.

It goes with the wardrobe change, I suppose, Sakura reasoned to herself. He doesn't normally show this much skin, let alone his eyes. He has every reason to be nervous. Behind those sunglasses he always seems so calm and collected, but maybe it's because he's exposed. Either that or he always looks this way and I just never noticed before.

Shino cleared his throat nervously, bringing Sakura's attention back to the party. "So…" he said uncertainly.

Sakura folded her arms in her lap. "So, are we doing this?" she asked.

Shino nodded distractedly. "Only if you're up for it," he replied.

"What's that supposed to mean, 'if I'm up for it'?" Sakura asked aloud.

Shino looked up at her, finally making eye contact. "It means exactly what it sounds like. Are you up for a kiss with me?" He asked.

Sakura felt a tingle travel down her spine as his eyes met hers. She wasn't sure what about a plain old kiss she had to be 'up for,' but she was going to find out.

"I am," she said, trying her best to hide her hesitance.

Shino furrowed his brow and nodded slowly. He let out a loud sigh and cracked his knuckles before getting up onto his knees.

_Is he preparing himself or something?_

Shino grabbed the sides of Sakura's face and leaned in close, pressing his forehead to hers. Their lips were not quite touching, and Sakura could feel his warm breath on her cheek. His dark piercing eyes were focused on hers. "You know, you look absolutely breathtaking tonight," he whispered gently.

Sakura felt her heart begin to race, although she wasn't sure if it was nerves or something else. He actually sounded sincere when he said that.

"Thank you," Sakura barely whispered. She could feel her face getting hot.

Shino kissed the tip of Sakura's nose softly and pulled back a little to get a full view of her face. He had a gentle smile on his face.

Sakura looked into his eyes, unsure of what was happening.

"You're quite the blushing beauty right now," Shino said, looking mildly amused. "I wonder why that would be."

_Man, he's not acting like himself at all tonight. I can't tell what he's going to do next._

Sakura's eyes widened, her blush becoming more prominent. Shino was really laying on the compliments, but they sounded genuine. If he was trying to raise the romantic tension in the room, he was doing a damn good job of it.

Shino chuckled and leaned in, kissing Sakura's cheek tenderly. Sakura let out a breath of air – she wasn't even aware that she was holding her breath until just now. Shino continued to leave a trail of kisses along her jawbone as he made his way closer and closer to her lips. With every feather-light kiss, the lightning in Sakura's lower belly struck until she was like putty in Shino's arms. Shino somehow managed to get her turned on with simple kisses on the cheek.

Finally, Shino sealed the deal as he pressed his lips to hers. He held onto the back of her head with one hand and cupped her jaw with the other, moaning very softly. Sakura felt a weight behind her eyes and allowed them to flutter closed. She let herself succumb to Shino's advances, which was unusual for her. She preferred to be the one in control if she had a choice, but Shino seemed so confident and willing to lead, and dammit she was going to let him.

Sakura felt something warm and soft graze her lips, and she parted them immediately to grant him entrance. Shino's tongue tangled with hers, and yet it didn't feel like the cliché 'battle for dominance' descriptor that was so widely used in books and things. This time felt different. Instead of fighting, it felt like their tongues were moving together, joined in a quick-paced rhythm that only served to turn her on even more.

She let loose a low moan as her hands tangled in his hair, pulling him in closer and ensuring that this kiss wouldn't end before she was satisfied. This was fucking incredible. Shino moaned in return – a barely audible sound that came from deep within his throat, sounding more like a growl than anything. Sakura felt her stomach sink a little more at the thought of Shino being a wild animal and losing his cool just this once.

Shino leaned forward, pushing Sakura onto her back underneath him and pinning her hands down above her head. Hungrily, he kissed her with an intensity that made it clear this wasn't just a game to him. Sakura moaned again, sounding more wanton than she intended, but at this point she was too far gone to care.

With one final gentle kiss to her forehead, Shino pulled back and returned to a seated position in his spot. "_That_, my dear, is what you had to be 'up for.' I hope you enjoyed it."

Sakura opened her mouth to respond, but no sound came out. She laid there, her mouth left agape. He had literally rendered her speechless. She sat up and looked around the circle; everyone was staring and had similar looks of utter shock on their faces. Feeling only slightly embarrassed and still coming down from her high, Sakura retreated to her spot next to Ino.

"Alright everyone, I think it's safe to say this game's all done. Thanks for playing!" Ino announced. As everyone got up from their spots, she leaned over to Sakura.

"When this party is over, I want _details_, you hear?"

* * *

...

...

**Just a few notes… all of the pairings, aside from Hinata x Naruto and Sakura x Shino were decided on by assigning each of the characters a number and using a random generator. It just happened to work out pretty nicely (especially in Sakura's favor, heh). The story came from an idea that I had, a combination of headcanons that I had (Ino's list of kissable boys and Shino being a good kisser, but no one would suspect a thing).**

**Thank you for reading! ~ Gallade**


	3. Chapter 3: The Reveal

**Chapter 3: The reveal**

"So? Tell me all about it!"

Sakura smiled and touched the toe of her shoe to the kitchen tile nervously, unsure how to phrase her response.

The party had finally ended hours after the game of spin-the-bottle ended. Truthfully, Sakura had expected there to be a whole bunch of awkward situations if the party continued after the game ended, but if anything it had been more fun. Everyone seemed to be more relaxed around each other than before, and crazy antics ensued. Many party-goers participated in a game of karaoke – Kiba serenaded everyone some more, Temari wowed with her gorgeous alto voice, Naruto and Lee both tried to sing but were quickly removed from the microphone once more, and even Sakura mustered up the courage to put herself out there and join in the fun.

Ino had started up an impromptu dance contest, something Sakura had no interest in participating in. She wasn't much of a dancer, truth be told, but it was great watching those who did participate. Most of the music had been fast pop music, easy to dance to with friends, but someone just _had _to put on a slow song and make everyone couple up. Sakura watched on as her friends paired up in combinations she never even thought possible before tonight – it seemed that the random pairings of spin-the-bottle sparked creativity and boldness among the shinobi. Ino and Gaara were dancing arm-in-arm, never once breaking that frighteningly intense eye contact. They were both quite smitten. Over in the corner of the room, she saw Neji and Tenten talking. Maybe something would happen between them, if Neji decided to drop the icy exterior, that is. Hinata was dancing with Naruto, and nearby Kiba was holding Temari rather amorously.

Perhaps the most entertaining was the show that Shikamaru and Choji had been putting on – they were holding each other close and dancing to the music, much to the delight of everyone around them. Whether they were dared to dance together or were doing it to get a reaction from the others, Sakura did not know, but either way the result was humorous. They kept up the hilarious act for a while, calling each other pet names and making the dance more and more ridiculous until Choji finally broke the act, laughing so hard that he was blue in the face.

Sakura planned to watch from the sidelines, instead opting to enjoy a glass of punch and some of the chicken wing dip Sai had brought (which was delicious!). She was busy stuffing her face when someone extended a hand in front of her. Her eyes darted up to see who it belonged to.

Kankuro was standing in front of Sakura, an arm extended in invitation. He had a pleasant expression on his face. "May I have this dance?"

Sakura set down her punch glass and folded her hands, eyes avoiding the jounin's. "I don't know how to dance," she admitted. Kankuro put his hand on top of Sakura's and gave her another sweet smile. "Then I'll show you how."

Kankuro was a better dancer than Sakura had ever expected him to be, and for the first time ever she actually had fun dancing. Kankuro was really sweet and gentle, and he was extremely patient with her as she learned by example.

All in all, it was a blast.

And now Sakura found herself in Ino's kitchen with the other girls. Most of the party guests had left already, save for the girls, Gaara, Kankuro, Choji, and Shikamaru. The boys were out in the living room doing who knows what. Perhaps they were exchanging notes just like the girls were now doing. Speaking of which…

"Earth to forehead!" Ino cried, waving a hand in front of Sakura's eyes, bringing her attention back to the room. "Anybody home?"

Sakura shook her head and blinked a few times. "Sorry Ino, I was distracted, what did you say?"

Ino made an impatient noise and pointed at a sheet of paper on the table in front of her. "I asked how the kisses were! How was it?"

Sakura glanced at the list of names in front of Ino. "Don't you just want to go in the list order?" She asked, hoping to put off her answers for a bit. She didn't want to be too graphic in case the others weren't about to share every detail…

Ino rolled her eyes. "Fine," she sighed looking down at the paper. "The first one on here is Kiba. I'd definitely give him a seven-and-a-half out of ten. Maybe eight."

Tenten raised an eyebrow. "That good, huh?"

Ino got a dreamy look in her eyes. "He was great, exactly as expected. He was so hot and dominating and just… wow."

Temari smirked. "I can definitely confirm _that_. He was a really great kisser and the way he just took charge was incredible. He'd totally be dominating in bed, I can tell. I give him an eight."

Sakura blushed. Well, she certainly need not hold back on the details… the others weren't.

Ino picked up a pencil and jotted down some notes next to Kiba's name. Picking up the paper, she read, "Next on the list is my squad. How was Choji? I have him on here as a five."

Everyone looked to Hinata for the answer. She twiddled her thumbs, blushing slightly. "He was alright," she began. "Certainly better than a five, I-I mean. A little clumsy, but that was his first kiss. I'd give him a six."

Ino nodded and wrote down the number. "Shikamaru?"

Sakura felt her face get hot, recalling that incredibly hot kiss. Shikamaru was definitely polished in his technique. She didn't want to know how he got so good, but she was thankful that he was. She and Hinata exchanged glances and nodded.

"He was really really good," Hinata spoke up first. "He was just so gentle and passionate at the same time, and his confidence was what really got me. I'd give him an eight."

Sakura smiled. "Definitely. Eight-and-a-half or nine, even. Shikamaru is one of the best kissers I have ever encountered, no question about it. He's definitely not lazy when it comes to kissing. God I thought my face was going to catch on fire."

"It _must_ have been good, forehead. Don't forget how loud you were," Ino taunted.

Sakura cringed. Oh yeah, that…

"Shut up, Ino," she said. "I seem to remember you getting really hot and bothered as well."

Ino had a dreamy expression on her face. Sakura's comeback didn't have the desired effect, it seemed – Ino was anything but embarrassed. The mention of it actually seemed to make her get lost in her thoughts.

"So I guess we'll move on to your squad, Temari," Tenten said, snatching the list from a very dazed Ino. "I'm guessing that Gaara was pretty good, judging by how hard it was to break him and Ino up once they got going."

Ino nodded. "He was so fucking good. If you hadn't stopped us, we probably would have moved that party to the bedroom."

Sakura made a face. So she was right in guessing that they meant business. They were practically undressing one another with their eyes after the kiss had been broken up, and the plans for later had some truth to them.

"What would you rate him?" Tenten asked, pencil at the ready.

"Definitely a 10."

Tenten raised an eyebrow. "Come on, be serious here."

Ino sighed. "Fine. He wasn't a ten, but my god the boy can kiss. I'd give him a seven-and-a-half."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Is everyone a seven-and-a-half to you?" She asked dryly.

Ino gave her a dirty look. "So how was Kankuro?" She asked, snatching the list back from Tenten.

Sakura smiled and bit her lip, looking at the tile floor beneath her feet. She felt so shy about it all of a sudden.

"He was soooo good, like a solid seven," she said finally, her face getting hot. "I think he likes me, actually. He said he was thrilled that the bottle landed on me, he asked me to slow dance with him, and I think he had a stiffie when I was kissing Shikamaru."

"Oh, don't say that!" Temari cried, wedging her fingers in her ears. "That can't be unheard!"

"Do you like him back?" Hinata asked.

Sakura thought about it for a moment. She was always looking forward to hanging out with him when they got the chance, and tonight felt so natural between them. The kissing was fantastic, the dancing was a lot more fun than she ever expected it to be, and didn't she find herself wanting to explore it further?! Maybe she _did_ like him after all...

But then there was Shikamaru. And while Shino was an incredible kisser, she wasn't too sure there were actual feelings backing up his actions. But Shikamaru… there was definitely some attraction there, she just knew it! And isn't that what she's been hoping for all along? She really really liked Shikamaru a lot! She was getting butterflies just thinking about him – she glanced into the living room, knowing that he was still out there.

She sighed, knowing that she was taking forever to answer, and by know Hinata was probably getting annoyed. It just sucked that she had to face such a hard decision, and either way she felt that there would be some regret and some hurt. Why was it that when there was nothing romantic happening in her life, it seemed no one was interested, but when one person showed interest they all showed interest? Why couldn't it be a clear-cut choice?!

"I think I _do_ like him, a lot actually," Sakura admitted. "I'd really consider it, but... I feel conflicted... if it weren't for the distance thing I think I'd give him a shot. I mean, he's a really great guy but I don't want to tie him down."

Hinata nodded in understanding. "I agree, the long-distance thing would be tough."

Ino jotted something down on the paper next to Kankuro's name. "Note to self," she said aloud, a mischievous grin on her face. "Sakura and Kankuro should totally bang sometime."

Sakura's face got red. "Ino!" She cried, embarrassed. "You didn't actually write that, did you?!"

Ino toyed with the pencil between her fingers, a devilish smirk on her face. "No, but you two should do it anyways."

"Who's next on the list, pig?" Sakura asked, eager to change the subject.

"We've got your squad, forehead. How was Naruto?"

Hinata couldn't help but smile. "It was everything I hoped it would be." She said. "He was kind of a sloppy kisser though. He used his teeth too much and sometimes I felt like he was trying to eat my face."

Sakura suppressed a giggle – somehow that didn't surprise her. It's not to say that she had low expectations for Naruto, she just knew that the handsome blonde had very little kissing experience.

"…But I'll definitely work on it with him," Hinata added, a cheeky smile lighting up her face. "He'll get better with practice."

There was a group jaw-drop – this was definitely bold of her, even in this group of friends who saw her at (what they thought was) her boldest.

"I'd say that he gets a five-and-a-half for now."

Ino nodded, writing the number on her list. "What about Sai?"

Sakura smiled and shook her head, recalling the catastrophe that almost was. "I almost beat him to death for calling me ugly, but his kissing is actually pretty good for someone who doesn't know a thing about romance. I'd give him a six-and-a-half."

Ino's eyes were sparkling with curiosity. "You're so lucky forehead," she said. "I wish it had been me and him, not you."

Sakura ignored the rudeness of that last statement and rolled her eyes. "We all know you do, Ino," she said.

"Alright, on to my squad, right?" Tenten asked cheerfully.

"Yeah, how was Lee?"

Tenten's face fell. "That reminds me, you totally owe me for kissing him. That was awful, I-"

Ino shook her head and tapped the pencil on the table. "Ah ah ah, there's no bashing here. You shouldn't completely diss him – isn't there any redeeming thing you can say?"

Tenten frowned and looked up at the ceiling, exasperated. "In that case, I'd give him a four. I'm sure he will improve tremendously with practice, but... I felt like I was kissing Akamaru."

Ino snickered and turned to Temari. "How was Neji?"

Temari rolled her eyes. "He humiliated me a little with the whole kissing thing… I mean, he completely turned me down and it was obvious he wanted no part of it. The kiss was like nothing. I'd give him a four, but that wouldn't be fair because I know it's not a true representation."

Ino nodded, scribbling a number on her paper.

"…Well, I'd give him an eight, at least," Tenten said, a sly grin stretching across her face.

Sakura widened her eyes in shock. "You didn't!" She said in surprise.

Tenten nodded, the smile growing. "I did!"

"Shut up! When?" Ino asked in happy disbelief.

Tenten played with a strand of hair, her mischievous smile was unmistakable – she wasn't fibbing.

"He pulled me aside when everyone was busy dancing," She admitted with a smile and a bite of the lip.

"Get some!" Ino cheered, her eyes still wide in surprise.

"That's everyone on the list."

Sakura decided to speak up. "Well, Shino wasn't on the list to begin with, but let me tell you that our prediction was totally wrong."

Ino's eyes lit up. "Oh, right! How could I have forgotten?" She wrote down Shino's name and looked up at Sakura expectantly. "Go on!"

Sakura blushed and interlaced her fingers. "It was absolutely amazing. Best kiss I've had, no contest."

Everyone leaned forward in shock, eyes wide. "Seriously?!"

Sakura gave an excited little squeal. "Yes! It was so good, who knew he had it in him?! The way he handled me was unlike anything I've ever had before. His words were picked so carefully and they felt sincere, and the way he built up into the kiss was the hottest thing ever. I would totally do it again."

Ino groaned. "Why did it have to be _you_, forehead?!" She cried, throwing her arms into the air. "You're too lucky."

Sakura smiled inwardly at this small victory over her best friend. For once, she had actually bested her enough to visibly piss her off, and there was a pleasant victorious feeling that came along with it.

Ino hid the completed list in a kitchen drawer and the five girls walked back into the living room, the remaining guests all sitting on the couch, impatient looks on their faces.

Shikamaru turned and gave Sakura a warm smile. "Hey," he said.

Sakura returned his greeting and sat down on the couch next to him.

"I think it's about time to head out, Kankuro," Temari said with a yawn.

Kankuro looked at her and nodded. "I agree. Gaara, you have fun alright?"

Gaara blushed a deep pink and nodded, avoiding eye contact.

Well, it seemed as if the Kazekage was going to spend the night with Ino after all.

"See you guys tomorrow!" Temari said, standing by the door.

Sakura's eyes met Kankuro's and the two smiled. "I'll be seeing you then?" Kankuro asked. Sakura nodded and gave him a genuine smile. "Of course, Kankuro! Actually, I would really like it if we hung out more often."

Kankuro nodded, the slightest hint of blush tinging his cheeks. "Consider it done."

After two of the three sand siblings left Ino's house, the blonde kunoichi strolled over to the couch and sat next to Gaara. "I'm really glad you're staying," she purred, scooching closer.

The redhead gave a bashful smile and blushed again. "I'm glad you'll let me stay." He replied.

The two got disgustingly cute and flirty and Sakura tuned them out, instead focusing on the lazy genius sitting next to her.

"So um…" Sakura began nervously. "Were you just playing along earlier?" She asked, cutting right to the chase. There would be no use in skirting around the issue.

Shikamaru gave her a concerned look. "You mean during the game? It's troublesome that you'd even suggest such a thing."

Sakura felt her stomach fill with butterflies. "So here's the thing… I um… I…"

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes knowingly and smiled. "I like you too," he said without missing a beat, pulling Sakura in and leaning her head on his shoulder.

Sakura sighed contentedly, closing her eyes. She felt cozy right here in his arms. It didn't feel strange at all to have suddenly become more than friends. It felt right.

This was definitely the best party Ino has thrown so far, Sakura admitted to herself, snuggling into Shikamaru's side.

* * *

"So Ino-pig, are you upset now that your list is complete?" Sakura asked her best friend over lunch the next day. "I mean, now you don't have anything to fantasize about."

Ino scoffed and flipped a hand haphazardly. "Pshh, I'm not out of things to fantasize about. I mean, there's a whole other level to the list now."

Sakura eyed her friend nervously – she didn't like where this was going.

"I'm afraid to ask."

Ino broke out in her terrifying devilish grin. Sakura knew this was going somewhere dangerous.

"Well, now that we've kissed all the guys, I think it would only be fair to fuck with them. For scientific purposes, of course."

Sakura's face pinkened. "No way, Ino," she cried. "We're definitely _not_ helping you with it this time."

Ino pouted. "But aren't you curious to see how all of them compare in the bedroom? Or anywhere, really, it doesn't have to be in a bed…"

Sakura cringed, trying not to imagine what Ino and Gaara had been done after the party. "Forcing the guys to kiss us was pushing it, I think this is going too far."

"But, but… fuck buddies! Haven't you always wanted one? Or several?"

"I'm ignoring you, Ino."

-End-

* * *

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...

**Well, there you have it! Please read and review, it's only fair! I wanted to do a fic that had a little something for all of the different shippers out there and I hope you enjoyed :)**

**Thank you for reading! ~ Gallade**


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